Cabinet with sliding doors

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a sliding door type of cabinet which is constructed in part with the use of standardized shelving apparatus such as hooked shelf brackets and slotted standards or posts. Shelves are provided and adapters for holding and guiding sliding type doors are fitted to the front edge portions of the shelves.

United States Patent [72] lnventor Jay G. Fenwidc Albert Lea, Minn. [21] App1.No. 848,189 [22] Filed Aug. 7, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 24, 1971 [73] Assignee Streater Industries, Inc.

Albert Lea, Minn.

[54] CABINET WITI-I SLIDING DOORS 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. CL... 312/138 [51] Int. Cl A471 3/00 [50] Field of Search 312/138 [56} References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,118,213 5/1938 Ma1ott.... 312/138 3,419,933 1/1969 Gossen 312/138 X Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney-Wayne B. Easton ABSTRACT: The invention relates to a sliding door type of cabinet which is constructed in part with the use of standardized shelving apparatus such as hooked shelf brackets and slotted standards or posts. Shelves are provided and adapters for holding and guiding sliding type doors are fitted to the front edge portions of the shelves.

PATENTEU Aus24|sn 31501; 462

INVENTOR.

JAY G. F'ENWICK Attorney CABINET WITH SLIDING DOORS The invention relates to a new and improved merchandising type of cabinet which may be used for storing and displaying various types of articles such as jewelry, cosmetics, toilet articles, etc.

In modern industry great economics and conveniences are afforded by the standardization of equipment parts, the use of modular concepts and by the use of common parts in more than one article of manufacture. The latter technique is relevant to the present invention.

Cabinets of various types have been made for many years by utilizing elementary wood working methods. The cabinet of the present invention involves an inventive concept which represents a substantial departure from prior art cabinet making methods by using, in a modified form, techniques established in the shelving art such as hook type shelf brackets and slotted standards or posts. Means are provided for use with standardized shelving apparatus to create a variety of different types of cabinets having sliding doors and widely different appearances from the aesthetic standpoint.

A main object of the invention is to provide a new and improved sliding door type cabinet. Another object is to provide such as a cabinet with standardized shelving parts such as hook type shelf brackets and slotted standards or posts.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following specification, drawings and appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet embodying constructional features in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of cabinet shelves; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevational sectional view of one of the shelf and bracket assemblies forming a part of the cabinet shown in FIG. 1.

The cabinet illustrated in FIG. 1 is a merchandising type of cabinet which may be used for storing and displaying various types of articles such as jewelry, toilet articles, cosmetics, etc. The cabinet has a pair of vertically extending'posts or'standards 2, each of which standards is supported by a pair of curved legs 4. The standards 2 are of conventional construction and are tubular in form with a rectangular cross section. Each of the standards 4 has a column of slots 6 with the slots being adaptedto receive the hooks'of conventional shelf type brackets. The upper ends of the posts 2 are connected with a laterally extending brace 8 which is connected to the posts with screws or the like.

The illustrated cabinet has six identical shelf units 11 to 16 which consists of an upper pair of units 11 and 12, a lower pair of units 15 and 16 and a pair of units 13 and 14 at an intermediate level between the upper and lower pairs of units. The units of each pair extend horizontally from either side of the standards 2. It is within the scope of the invention for the shelf units to be inclined relative to the standards 2 instead of extending normal to the standards as illustrated. Also, for the purpose of this description, the upper or top units 11 and 12 the will be referred to for convenience as shelf units even though in some installations, such as in the cabinet illustrated, their primary function is to serve as a lid or roof for the cabinet.

One of the shelf units such as the shelf unit 11 is shown in FIG. 4. Each shelf unit comprises a shelf member 18 fastened between a pair of brackets 20. In the illustrated cabinet there are six shelf members 18 and twelve brackets 20. Shelf member 18 is illustrated as being formed of sheet metal and comprises parallel, upper and lower horizontally extending portions 22 and 24 jointed at the rear ends thereof with a vertically and longitudinally extending portion 26. Depending downwardly and outwardly from the front end of the upper shelf portion 22 is a front shelf portion 28, the shelf portions 22 and 28 being separated by a front shelf portion 28, the shelf portions 22 and 28 being separated by a longitudinally extending recess 30 to form a longitudinally extending protuberance 32 at the upper end of the shelf portion 28. The lower end of shelf portion 28 is curved to form a rounded, longitudinally extending protuberance 34.

Brackets 20 are of conventional construction and have hooks 38 at the rear ends thereof which are insertable in the vertically extending slots 6 of the standards 2. A pair of brackets 20 are attachable to opposite ends of a shelf 18 by any desired means such as welding, or by some form of detachable means, to form one of the shelf units 11 to 16.

With reference to shelf units 11, 13 and 15, sliding door adapters 41, 43 and 45 are attached respectively to the front ends of these units. Identical sliding door adapters are mounted on the front ends of shelf units 12, 14 and 16 and hence do not have to be separately described. It will be apparent from the following description that the sliding door adapters should be attached to the shelf members 18 prior to the attachment thereto of the brackets 20.

Adapters 41, 43 and 45 are elongated members and each has an internal or female contour which is complementary to the external or male contour of the front end of the respective shelf unit to which it is to be attached. With this construction the internal contour of each adapter includes longitudinally extending recesses formed therewith which conform to the shapes of the protuberances 32 and 34. It is contemplated that an adapter will be attached by registering the internal contour thereof with the external contour of a shelf portion 28 and telescopically sliding the adapter longitudinally onto the shelf portion 28.

The sliding door adapters 41, 43 and 45 may be made of a plastic material and may be formed or shaped by extrusion. The external contour of each adapter forms various arrangements of door tracks with each arrangement including at least one side-by-side pair of tracks. Adapter 41 has a pair of downwardly facing tracks 46, adapter 45 has a pair of upwardly facing tracks 47 and adapter 43 has a pair of upwardly facing tracks 48 and a pair of downwardly facing tracks 49. A pair of sliding glass doors 50 and 51 are disposed between the tracks 46 and 48 and a pair of sliding doors 52 and 53 are disposed between the tracks 49 and 47.

The cabinet shown in FIG. 1 can be assembled from the parts described above in a few minutes. The posts or standards 2 are set in place and the brace 8 is attached to the upper ends of the two posts. Next the shelf units 11 to 16, each of which includes a shelf 18 with brackets 20 attached at opposite ends thereof, are attached to the posts 2 by the insertion of the bracket hooks 38 into the post slots 6. Each shelf unit has a sliding door adapter attached thereto which in the disclosed embodiment of the invention is attached to the shelf member 18 prior to the attaching of the brackets 20 to the shelf member 18. Shelf units 11 and 12 are provided with adapters 41, shelf units 13 and 14 are provided with adapters 43 and shelf units 15 and 16 are provided with adapters 45. In the cabinet disclosed a total of eight glass doors are installed with a set of four doors 50 to 53 being installed on each side of the cabinet. The heights of the doors 50 to53 determine the elevations at which the shelf units are attached by their hooks 38 in the post slots 6 and the modular principle should be applied in selecting heights for the doors so that the vertical spacings between pairs of tracks 46 and 48, and between pairs of tracks 49 and 47, will accommodate the installation and presence of the doors.

One of the last steps in completing the cabinet is to attach two side panels 56 and 57 by any suitable means (not shown) to the sides of the shelf units. Door locks or fasteners may be provided, if desired, as well as a board 60 upon which advertising or merchandising information may be placed.

I claim:

1. A cabinet comprising, post means having vertically extending slots, brackets extending in a generally horizontal direction having hooks insertable in said slots, shelves attached to and between pairs of said brackets, longitudinally the outer end portion of said one of said shelves, said one of said shelves having a generally horizontally extending portion and said front wall portion extends downwardly and outwardly, a longitudinally extending recess between said portions, and a longitudinally extending rib on said adapter surface being disposed in said recess. 

1. A cabinet comprising, post means having vertically extending slots, brackets extending in a generally horizontal direction having hooks insertable in said slots, shelves attached to and between pairs of said brackets, longitudinally extending sliding door adapters attached to the front ends of said shelves, said adapters having sliding door track means, at least one horizontally sliding door disposed between oppositely and mutually facing ones of said track means, one of said shelves being formed of sheet metal with a generally vertically extending front wall portion, one of said adapters being formed with a surface having substantially the same contour as the outer end portion of said one of said shelves, said one of said shelves having a generally horizontally extending portion and said front wall portion extends downwardly and outwardly, a longitudinally extending recess between said portions, and a longitudinally extending rib on said adapter surface being disposed in said recess. 